Illustrator Lizzie Mary Cullen gets her hands on one this year's hottest design toys: Wacom's first Android tablet. You can watch Lizzie trying out the tablet in the video above.

We've just had a chance to spend some time with Wacom's new toys for creative pros: the Cintiq Companion, Cintiq Companion Hybrid and Creative Stylus.

Both Cintiq Companions are tablets with 13.3-inch screens that offer full Wacom pen support and 2,048 levels of pressure sensitively. The Cintiq Companion is a Windows 8 tablet, capable of running the full versions of Photoshop and other Creative Cloud applications (as well as the likes of Corel Painter and Autodesk Sketchbook Pro). It's available in two versions, with either 256GB of storage (for £1,375 plus VAT) or 512GB (£1,666)

The Cintiq Companion Hybrid is an Android tablet, so you're more limited in your choice of applications (to Android apps such as Sketchbook Pro, Photoshop Touch, ArtRage et al). It's cheaper than the Windows version, though with much smaller amounts of storage: £999 with 16GB or £1,083 with 32GB.

To review the artistic capabilities of these models, we tapped the talents of pen-based illustration genius Lizzie Mary Cullen. You can see her using the Cintiq Companion Hybrid above and read her initial thoughts on it below. She'll be back with her thoughts on the Cintiq Companion and Creative Stylus later this week.

The models we looked at were prototypes. We're expecting review units of shipping models in early October, so look out for reviews then.

What Lizzie Mary Cullen thinks of the Wacom Cintiq Companion Hybrid

Those who read my review of the Wacom Cintiq 13HD review will be aware that I was so enamoured of the gadget that I was on the verge of becoming one of those machine fanciers and mating with it. I mean, who wouldn't? The stylus sensitivity! The vastness of the of the workspace (compared to an iPad)! Ooh yeeah.

Anyway, the one big problem with the Cintiq 13HD was that you had to use it tethered to a real computer. I wanted to be free from having to cart both it and a laptop around. Clearly Wacom have now received my pleading letters (written in blood) and are launching the new Cintiq Companion Hybrid, which is its own Android tablet. But an Android tablet with the artistic responsiveness – and pen support – of a Cintiq. Oh happy days!

(By some of technical wizardry, if you plug the Cintiq Companion Hybrid into a laptop, it turns into a standard Cintiq, though I didn't get a chance to test this devilishness).

You can only imagine my joy as I arrived at Wacom distributor Computers Unlimited's press event – the dubiously titled CU Exposed – ready to be wooed by this magnificent piece of machinery. It looks great, and as light as a sketch pad for carting round when traveling. The stylus is excellent and very responsive. So do we hear wedding bells?

Honestly...no. The thing is so full of bugs I could start a flea circus (before making a career move into GM dinosaurs).

I was busy creating a dubious drawing when the Wacom Canvas app crashed. Then it did it again. And again. Oh, and again.

I was assured repeatedly that this was a prototype, so I agreed to reserve my judgement on the bugs til I see a final version.

However, even when I forget about the bugs, there are still elements of the Cintiq Companion Hybrid that tell me that it's not designed for illustrators who actually draw. For example, whenever I rested my hand on the tablet's screen – drawing away happily – my hand would brush some mystery hidden button and my work would disappear.

This happened a few times, then I thought I'd found my solution when I disabled the touch control. But then it happened again with the scroll bar. Perhaps I have ungainly gnome hands, or perhaps, this Cintiq is more for graphic designers or creative directors who want to rough out work than illustrators who want to begin – and perhaps finish – artwork on it.

In all fairness, if I set up the Cintiq Companion Hybrid to my exact specifications, it might work fine and dandy – but only up to a point. While using the big daddy Cintiq 24HD last year, I never once thought longingly of my pen and paper, abandoned in my studio. While using this standalone counterpart, it's all I could think about.

I also got a chance to try out the Cintiq Companion (non-Hybrid), which is a full Windows 8 tablet – so you can run the full Photoshop – and Wacom's Creative Stylus for the iPad. Except hands-on reviews of these soon.

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Comments

Booo said: What about the battery life?

Adam Lein said: The Cintiq Companion does anything a Windows 8 PC does, so all the flash/java stuff will work. I don't think those sites support pressure sensitivity though. Flash for Android has been discontinued, so I wouldn't expect it to work on the Cintiq Companion Hybrid.

Adam Lein said: The comments below seem to be about the Wacom Companion which runs full Windows 8, but the review above is about the Wacom Companion Hybrid which runs Android.

DoubleB said: Painter on Android... when did this happen?

Muhammad Ali said: I hope that lagging thing was caused by Adobe PS alone, because I had such issues with Adobe PS even I was working on a standard pc. Can you try drawing by using other softwares like sketchbook pro, illustrator or CorelDraw so we can have more idea about the Companion's Performance? Thanks :)

Erick McGee said: Were you able to test the hybrid with the apps CloverPaint and LayerPaint HD? I have a galaxy note 8.0, LOVE IT! However when I was first playing with the drawing apps on play store, I immediately bought, Sketchbook pro, Artflow studio, and Sketchbook Ink. There was a horrendous problem with them though: The maximum resolution the apps supported (excluding SB ink) was 2560x2560, which is bull since there are apps on the iPad that support 4096x4096. I draw my comic strip around 12k x 6k. I then discovered that LayerPaint and CloverPaint support much higher resolutions surpassing 4k. Anyway, because of this I decided I'll get the hybrid since I can easily draw my comic in the android OS and hook it up to my desktop and finish the strip, but so far, not many reviews have tested LayerPaint HD or Clover Paint on the cintiq, it's always freaking sketchbook or wacom's drawing apps, if someone has tested them out on this, I would like to know how it preformed

TonyF said: I got my Hybrid companion about a month ago now and I am happy to say that its been incredible. No lag, and no issues when connected to a laptop or desktop -- giving me a CIntiq 13HD - but with TOUCH.... and on the go, Sketchbook Pro and Artflow have proved to be really fantastic mobile apps. If you can, you just might want to give the product another go-around.

Justin Daniel Castaneda said: Were you running the device on high performance mode, balanced, or power saver? I just ordered one of these to give it a whirl. I'm adept on both OS's so it doesn't bother me that it is Windows, and the fact that it has integrated hardware doesn't bother me either. If in 2-3 years it has inferior hardware I can always connect via Remote Desktop Connection to my desktop pc, and utilize it's hardware, while maintaining the Wacom's touch interface. I look forward to testing it thoroughly, and seeing if your analysis is up to par. Everything else I have read on the internet suggests that this machine is amazing.I feel like almost all of the bad press this machine has gotten comes from the Windows operating system. I know most people don't like it, and Mac users really hate it. Being as I work on both all the time, I have to wonder if the Mac OS has in fact made people inept at learning other software. For how much Mac users claim the superiority of their OS, they sure crash and burn when their training wheels are taken off.Also, has anyone tried to enter the bios on this machine? I am curious if it would even be possible to install Mac OS on it. Technically it is just hardware. =)

knowitall said: Um... Don't really see any point to the video if you're not going to show pressure sensitivity. You could draw that on any smart phone app, never mind tablet, mouse, Mouse Paint '85. Obviously it's just a glorified drawing pad for someone who doesn't know what they're doing.

knowitall said: Um... Don't really see any point to the video if you're not going to show pressure sensitivity. You could draw that on any smart phone app, never-mind tablet, mouse, Mouse Paint '85. Obviously it's just a glorified drawing pad for someone who doesn't know what they're doing.

MoonDancer said: I wonder how the companion would fare with browser-based flash player/java drawing websites such as painchats, oekaki boards and the such.For instance, I rather enjoy doodling with friends on iScribble.net or tegakiE, or playing Doodle or Die with random strangers.I admit that one reason I'd like a tablet with online capacity would be to enjoy those websites anywhere (well, anywhere I have Wi-Fi... I suppose the companion hybrid would have 3G but I guess flash player/java content won't work with the browser applications...)I would like to own a tablet one day but not being able to use them to draw online (what can I say, drawing online with friends is one of my favorite things allowed by Internet age) is one of the biggest reasons I'm sticking with my aging laptop...

BarbaraBBQ said: is there ANYTHING comparable on the market?? i was searching for tablet pcs but non of them seems to be a solution for illustrators. Any suggestions?? :) tanks!

sidh said: Can we connect the Companion also to desktop and use it like cintiq ?

joe said: I've been using one for a week. There is no lag. "Mystery commands" can be overcome as has been mentioned but I have not experienced any so I don't know what the reviewer is on about. There is a slight offset of pen/cursor at the very edges left an right but plays no part while painting. I find it a delightfully easy object to draw on. Photoshop, Painter and Sketchbook Pro.

Guest said: I've been using one for a week. There is no lag. "Mystery commands"!? It's a joy to use.

angelo said: thanks for the review..what would you recommend Cintiq companion vs Surface Pro for a artist/computer programmer

Al said: Great review, exactly the kind of real-life testing I was hoping for. Did you get a chance to test it in daylight? Or directly under a ceiling light? Bad reflections could really limit the portability value.I personally wouldn't trust them when they say the lag will be sorted out in the final release. It's vital to the whole point of the product and if they'd had their eyes on the ball, they'd have been testing this kind of drawing fluidity the whole time they were developing it. It would be like a car that didn't steer: if it gets to the point of being a review model with a flaw like that, something has gone horribly wrong.I'd been massively excited about getting one right up until they were released: the fact the battery can't be changed put me off enormously. 2-3 years down the line it'll be a paperweight that only works when plugged in, and even before then you'll never be able to be away from the desk for more than a few hours, defeating the whole point. Go to the park, get inspired, start sketching, it all starts coming together... and then the battery dies, and you have to either hope you don't forget your idea on the bus back, or start again with paper and pen, using this thing as the world's most expensive lap tray.That plus the lag makes me think they have no idea about their customers.It's a great idea though: hopefully they'll respond to feedback and bring out a version 2 that actually lives up to the promise!

Anon said: horrible review, of a prototype with no updates to user proposed questions

Lizzie Mary Cullen said: I don't think this invalidates the entire review at all. The problem with the lagging was something that was annoying, but in theory would be corrected.Good idea about updating the review - I will definitely look into it! : )

Lizzie Mary Cullen said: Yes, that was a ball ache when testing it. Apparently, this was a prototype, and the lag is not present in the actual product. We had a hard time calibrating, but we were assured it was because this Cinitiq was a prototype. Hope this helps! : )

rurifan said: Thanks for the extended drawing demo, other reviews neglect that!I see the brush strokes lag behind your pen really badly (at one point with the big brushes it's still showing up after you moved your whole hand back to the color palette!). How does the Cintiq Companion's lag compare to the Cintiq 24HD Touch you reviewed?Did you or the techies try to do anything to reduce the lag? I've heard that switching to the High Performance power profile helps, for instance. Some suggest various other tweaks like disabling Windows Ink.Seeing the sluggish strokes really harmed my enthusiasm for this expensive toy. :(

charliesheenhardcore said: How many hours on the battery?

Lizzie Mary Cullen said: Cool! Great tip - I'll definitely turn off the touch sensor next time I give it a test drive : )

Lizzie Mary Cullen said: Haha thanks! x

Martin said: Hoping to get one﻿ soon! I just did a feature review for artists here:http://artedstates.blogspot.co...­3/10/windows-8-tablets-for-art­ists-comparison.html

Amy said: There is an option on the Companion to turn off the touch controls so that while drawing you don't have to worry about your arm accidentally hitting a mystery command like you said happened to you often. It is default the second button from the top, unless you remapped them.The screen also has the same glass as the other cintiq products so it should give you the same feel when drawing, as far as the feel of the pen on the glass. It has a nice toothiness to it and switching to the softer tips can help increase that.Also I have found that something in PS doesn't play nice with the stylus and has a small offset to it that isn't there in other programs. Adobe claims to be looking into it at least according to a forum post.

rgrmexico said: Looking forward to your review of the Companion, Ms. Cullen. Also have to give you credit for the Jurassic Park reference haha.